Dusty Rhodes is an American professional wrestler, trainer and we all know him by the name The American Dream Dusty Rhodes.

His estimated net worth is around 3$ million.

Early life

Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. was born on October 12, 1945 in Austin, Texas, U.S. Dusty, unlike other professional wrestlers, began his athletic career as a football player. He played all through his high school and after his graduation he played for a while with Hartford Charter Oaks.

After his team was folded, Dusty made a decision to try his skills in the wrestling world, after he saw an advertisement in the paper. They were looking for athletes who are willing to train wrestling and they were located in Boston.

Dusty joined them and in the 1967 he made his first debut in the ring.

Professional career

Rhodes came up with the name while he was competing in the World Class Championship Wrestling. Dusty showed great talent and motivation so in only few years he managed to win the World Heavyweight Championship for three times, NWA National Heavyweight Championship one time and ten times Florida Heavyweight Championship.

The popularity of this wrestling champion was at its peak during the eighties and nineties. The concept of pay-per-view matches was growing, and Dusty was the star of every show with his some-what humorous performances.

Dusty’s net worth mostly came from his prizes and competition winnings, as well as from his sponsorships from famous brand names. At the peak of his career he had around 350.000$ from his competitions and around 70.000$ from his sponsors.

After competing for the titles, he began working for the WCW and later for ECW in the nineties, as a booker. In this time, Dusty was already retiring a little and focusing on his business outside the ring. His name can be found in the WWE Hall of Fame and Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

In the recent years, Rhodes concentrated on working as a trainer and he also tried out his talent as a writer of the show Next Wrestling. Most of his money recently came from several appearances he made to honor his amazing career, but the overall interest for him slowly faded.

However, even though his fame faded, because of his action and business ventures behind the ring his net worth and annual income increased in the last few years. His net worth almost doubled compared to 2012 which only goes to show that Dusty wasn’t only a great athlete he was also a talented businessman. He is also listed as one of the highest paid wrestlers.

Personal life

Rhodes got married for the first time with his girlfriend Sandra and the marriage lasted for almost ten years. After their divorce in 1978, he married Michelle Rubio and the couple stayed together until his death in 2015.

Dusty had four children and five grandchildren. His sons Dustin and Cody Runnels are now professional wrestlers and continue to extend their father’s legacy. In 2015, Rhodes was rushed to the hospital after he had fallen in his house in Florida.

After only few hours, Dusty died in a Florida hospital. He was 69 years old and the reason for his death was stomach cancer. He was later cremated and his family spread his ashes on a ranch he often visited and spent time on.

His death was followed by the media, and on the shows Raw and Next Wrestling, honorary tribute was made in his name.

Quick summary:

Full Name: Dusty Rhodes

Date of Birth: October 12, 1945

Birth Place: Austin, Texas, U.S.

Age: 71 years

Profession: professional wrestler, trainer, booker

Height: 1.88 m

Weight: 125 kg

Net worth: 3$ million